Star Wars - Episode III: Dawn of the Empire
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Updated
User reviews
29 reviews
Overall rating
9.3
Audio/Video Quality
9.3(16)
Audio Editing
9.6(16)
Visual Editing
9.7(16)
Narrative
8.8(16)
Enjoyment
9.3(29)
16 results - showing 11 - 15
Ordering
Overall rating
9.8
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
9.0
Enjoyment
10.0
Wow.
I have always had a soft spot for the prequel trilogy (don’t kill me!) and especially for Revenge of the Sith. But that didn’t mean I thought the films were great, far from it; but what I saw were epic films. Films with a massive scope. Films with massive amounts of characters and settings. Film with (believe it or not) complex and intriguing plots. Revenge of the Sith delivered the most on these aspects.
Unfortunately, ROTS also featured a few other common aspects of the PT: bad dialogue, acting, and humor. These things have ALWAYS made me cringe.
Well, guess what? No more! In Dawn of the Empire, they’re gone. These things are excised, and they are excised with great skill. The excision is so successful that, even though I have seen ROTS an innumerable amount of times, I completely forgot where these cringeworthy parts were, and if they ever even existed. There are some transitions that feel a little awkward but they are very easily overlooked.
But to talk as if this is all L8wrtr has done is to ignore his greatest achievement: the re-crafting of Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side. His re-ordering is nothing short of brilliant. I don’t know how I can explain this other than to say: It really works now. His fall is organic, gradual, and, most importantly, believable.
The opening is notable as well. All I could think of while watching it is: quick, and seamless. Quick is exactly what the opening always needed to be, and seamless is what the other fan edits of the opening haven’t exactly been; because when I say seamless, I mean perfect.
I only have a few qualms with this edit, and they all have to deal with the ending:
1. Padme doesn’t name the newborns. I don’t really mind this, but it means that this edit is meant to be watched as part of a 4-5-6-1-2-3 order, which, again, I don’t mind. In any other order, it’s just a little confusing, because it’s never explicably stated in this edit that the second baby is Leia. If you watch in chronological order, you know the whole time Luke has a sibling, but whether or not you know it’s Leia depends on how well you were able to pay attention and deduce from this edit. It doesn’t really work for a Machete order because, like chronological, the viewer may or may not know the other baby is Leia.
2. Removing the final scenes on Tantive IV. This creates two plot holes in the saga – force ghosts and C-3PO’s memory, and it means, because Yoda hasn’t said what he’ll do, there must be a…
3. Yoda lands on Dagobah scene. I don’t dislike this scene, I just prefer the film to end with the Skywalker family – Vader on the Star Destroyer, Leia on Alderaan, and Luke on Tatooine.
4. The final scenes seem to almost go too fast.
Just to be absolutely clear, though, the ending still works. As does everything in this edit. Everything works so well that I think if I were to give Dawn of the Empire a rating as a movie, I would give it a 9 out of 10. As a fan edit, I have to say it is with out a doubt an improvement over the original. A few months back I said, based on how the edit was shaping up, that this was “already my preferred version of ROTS.” Now that I’ve seen it, I can honestly say that my mind hasn’t changed. Because of that, I give STAR WARS EPISODE III: DAWN OF THE EMPIRE 10/10
I have always had a soft spot for the prequel trilogy (don’t kill me!) and especially for Revenge of the Sith. But that didn’t mean I thought the films were great, far from it; but what I saw were epic films. Films with a massive scope. Films with massive amounts of characters and settings. Film with (believe it or not) complex and intriguing plots. Revenge of the Sith delivered the most on these aspects.
Unfortunately, ROTS also featured a few other common aspects of the PT: bad dialogue, acting, and humor. These things have ALWAYS made me cringe.
Well, guess what? No more! In Dawn of the Empire, they’re gone. These things are excised, and they are excised with great skill. The excision is so successful that, even though I have seen ROTS an innumerable amount of times, I completely forgot where these cringeworthy parts were, and if they ever even existed. There are some transitions that feel a little awkward but they are very easily overlooked.
But to talk as if this is all L8wrtr has done is to ignore his greatest achievement: the re-crafting of Anakin Skywalker’s fall to the dark side. His re-ordering is nothing short of brilliant. I don’t know how I can explain this other than to say: It really works now. His fall is organic, gradual, and, most importantly, believable.
The opening is notable as well. All I could think of while watching it is: quick, and seamless. Quick is exactly what the opening always needed to be, and seamless is what the other fan edits of the opening haven’t exactly been; because when I say seamless, I mean perfect.
I only have a few qualms with this edit, and they all have to deal with the ending:
1. Padme doesn’t name the newborns. I don’t really mind this, but it means that this edit is meant to be watched as part of a 4-5-6-1-2-3 order, which, again, I don’t mind. In any other order, it’s just a little confusing, because it’s never explicably stated in this edit that the second baby is Leia. If you watch in chronological order, you know the whole time Luke has a sibling, but whether or not you know it’s Leia depends on how well you were able to pay attention and deduce from this edit. It doesn’t really work for a Machete order because, like chronological, the viewer may or may not know the other baby is Leia.
2. Removing the final scenes on Tantive IV. This creates two plot holes in the saga – force ghosts and C-3PO’s memory, and it means, because Yoda hasn’t said what he’ll do, there must be a…
3. Yoda lands on Dagobah scene. I don’t dislike this scene, I just prefer the film to end with the Skywalker family – Vader on the Star Destroyer, Leia on Alderaan, and Luke on Tatooine.
4. The final scenes seem to almost go too fast.
Just to be absolutely clear, though, the ending still works. As does everything in this edit. Everything works so well that I think if I were to give Dawn of the Empire a rating as a movie, I would give it a 9 out of 10. As a fan edit, I have to say it is with out a doubt an improvement over the original. A few months back I said, based on how the edit was shaping up, that this was “already my preferred version of ROTS.” Now that I’ve seen it, I can honestly say that my mind hasn’t changed. Because of that, I give STAR WARS EPISODE III: DAWN OF THE EMPIRE 10/10
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
D
(Updated: July 20, 2017)
Overall rating
7.8
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
7.0
L8wrtr's editing is the *cleanest* (least noticeable) of any ROTS I've seen, but in the end, I think the edit is not quite as good overall as the original cut of the film (*despite* the many welcome improvements).
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
The Ani-Obi-Dooku duel is excellent; unlike the original cut, you now really get the sense that Dooku simply *knows* that he'll be able to defeat the two Jedi the same way he did on Geonosis...what he didn't expect was how powerful Anakin would have become (especially when fueled by anger). L8wrtr's edits convey this much better; Anakin is in rage mode, beats Dooku, and simply cuts his head off and immediately regrets it (Palpatine's famous but silly "DEWIT" line is gone). This works much better because it fits with the instinct he has toward merciless revenge we saw in AOTC (as opposed to fairly silly urging by Palpatine). The edits here are perfect. Bravo, L8wrtr.
Unfortunately, The choice of putting the famous opera scene here is jarring, and simply doesn't work. I think I can appreciate L8wrtr's intention, but having Palpatine rescued by the Jedi and then two scenes later (literally overnight) telling Anakin that the Jedi are planning to betray him comes off as forced and silly. It also diminishes the context of their meeting... The day after the attack, Palpatine makes a request to the Jedi that Anakin should hang out with him at an opera for no reason? The original placement of the scene worked much better; here it's simply jarring.
In fact, L8wrtr's decisions in reshuffling the sequences regarding the Anakin-as-a-double-agent plot simply don't work and the narrative flow is less logical than in the original.
On the other hand, the inclusion of multiple deleted scenes with Padme, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma is MOST welcome. This and L8wrtr's masterful editing of the opening sequences are the best overall changes of the edit.
There are many more subtle edits throughout the rest of the film that are for the better, including the Mace vs Palpatine duel and Anakin's submission to Palpatine.
On that note, L8wrtr's done a good job tweaking Palpatine's face change so that it now seems clear that his *true* form is revealed once Anakin slices off Windu's arm and he unleashes his "unlimited power."
My biggest problem with this film is something that L8wrtr unfortunately leaves in (while Lucas deserves full blame for the scene, it's disappointing that L8wrtr left it unchanged): Anakin murdering little Jedi kids, a scene that's ridiculous and utterly unbelievable (to the point of being laughable), not to mention absolutely unnecessary. The fact that Anakin helped kill Windu and is now leading an assault on the Jedi Temple is enough for the audience to know that he's become a villain. The scene where Bail watches clonetroopers kill a Jedi adolescent is enough to convey that ALL Jedi in the temple were killed (including kids). The fact that Anakin personally murders human children who trusted him makes all of his subsequent dialogue with Padme completely ridiculous: Later on, Padme learns that he's a child murderer and then says that she loves him and just wants his love....uh, lol?? If it weren't for that scene, everything that happens later would make perfect sense. Again, the scene's existence is Lucas' fault, but if I could only choose one scene to remove from the original cut, it would be this.
Speaking of which, we would be able to assume that once Anakin is in the Vader suit, he's capable of any and all evil if it weren't for the fact that L8wrtr inexplicably removed Palpatine telling Vader that Padme is dead. This (like some of the earlier reshuffling) simply breaks the film for me...because it leaves the audience absolutely unable to answer the question of why Vader wouldn't travel to the ends of the galaxy to find Padme unless he knew with certainty that she were dead. I can understand removing "NOOOOO (Do not want)," but I can't understand removing Vader's explicit understanding that Padme is dead.
That said, the throat crunch noises on Padme's neck, no more "I have the high ground" (seamlessly edited), no more "she's losing the will to live" BS...all very welcome changes.
Unfortunately, the last bunch of edits are problematic; I can't fathom why L8wrtr removed the conversation about separating the twins, that Luke has family on Tatooine, etc. Why was this removed? No reason whatsoever as far as I can tell. Instead, we're shown what feels like a much more random bunch of scenes that come out of nowhere with no explanation at all.
Yoda landing on Dagobah: Not needed, and should have remained the cutting room floor. We still get Obi-Wan's baby drop-off service; perhaps starting the scene where he's already with Beru and handing off Luke would make more sense (we could then assume that they'd already been talking for some time). Palpatine, Vader, and Tarkin with Death Star under construction: Completely unnecessary and (very) silly... Disappointing that this wasn't removed, but I don't fault L8wrtr for the scene's existence.
Ultimately, L8wrtr's version of any particular scene could be considered superior. The point is that the totality of L8wrtr's edits make for an experience which, despite welcome improvements in particular sequences, is simply not *quite* as logical in narrative progression and ultimately not quite as good as the original overall.
(SPOILERS AHEAD)
The Ani-Obi-Dooku duel is excellent; unlike the original cut, you now really get the sense that Dooku simply *knows* that he'll be able to defeat the two Jedi the same way he did on Geonosis...what he didn't expect was how powerful Anakin would have become (especially when fueled by anger). L8wrtr's edits convey this much better; Anakin is in rage mode, beats Dooku, and simply cuts his head off and immediately regrets it (Palpatine's famous but silly "DEWIT" line is gone). This works much better because it fits with the instinct he has toward merciless revenge we saw in AOTC (as opposed to fairly silly urging by Palpatine). The edits here are perfect. Bravo, L8wrtr.
Unfortunately, The choice of putting the famous opera scene here is jarring, and simply doesn't work. I think I can appreciate L8wrtr's intention, but having Palpatine rescued by the Jedi and then two scenes later (literally overnight) telling Anakin that the Jedi are planning to betray him comes off as forced and silly. It also diminishes the context of their meeting... The day after the attack, Palpatine makes a request to the Jedi that Anakin should hang out with him at an opera for no reason? The original placement of the scene worked much better; here it's simply jarring.
In fact, L8wrtr's decisions in reshuffling the sequences regarding the Anakin-as-a-double-agent plot simply don't work and the narrative flow is less logical than in the original.
On the other hand, the inclusion of multiple deleted scenes with Padme, Bail Organa, and Mon Mothma is MOST welcome. This and L8wrtr's masterful editing of the opening sequences are the best overall changes of the edit.
There are many more subtle edits throughout the rest of the film that are for the better, including the Mace vs Palpatine duel and Anakin's submission to Palpatine.
On that note, L8wrtr's done a good job tweaking Palpatine's face change so that it now seems clear that his *true* form is revealed once Anakin slices off Windu's arm and he unleashes his "unlimited power."
My biggest problem with this film is something that L8wrtr unfortunately leaves in (while Lucas deserves full blame for the scene, it's disappointing that L8wrtr left it unchanged): Anakin murdering little Jedi kids, a scene that's ridiculous and utterly unbelievable (to the point of being laughable), not to mention absolutely unnecessary. The fact that Anakin helped kill Windu and is now leading an assault on the Jedi Temple is enough for the audience to know that he's become a villain. The scene where Bail watches clonetroopers kill a Jedi adolescent is enough to convey that ALL Jedi in the temple were killed (including kids). The fact that Anakin personally murders human children who trusted him makes all of his subsequent dialogue with Padme completely ridiculous: Later on, Padme learns that he's a child murderer and then says that she loves him and just wants his love....uh, lol?? If it weren't for that scene, everything that happens later would make perfect sense. Again, the scene's existence is Lucas' fault, but if I could only choose one scene to remove from the original cut, it would be this.
Speaking of which, we would be able to assume that once Anakin is in the Vader suit, he's capable of any and all evil if it weren't for the fact that L8wrtr inexplicably removed Palpatine telling Vader that Padme is dead. This (like some of the earlier reshuffling) simply breaks the film for me...because it leaves the audience absolutely unable to answer the question of why Vader wouldn't travel to the ends of the galaxy to find Padme unless he knew with certainty that she were dead. I can understand removing "NOOOOO (Do not want)," but I can't understand removing Vader's explicit understanding that Padme is dead.
That said, the throat crunch noises on Padme's neck, no more "I have the high ground" (seamlessly edited), no more "she's losing the will to live" BS...all very welcome changes.
Unfortunately, the last bunch of edits are problematic; I can't fathom why L8wrtr removed the conversation about separating the twins, that Luke has family on Tatooine, etc. Why was this removed? No reason whatsoever as far as I can tell. Instead, we're shown what feels like a much more random bunch of scenes that come out of nowhere with no explanation at all.
Yoda landing on Dagobah: Not needed, and should have remained the cutting room floor. We still get Obi-Wan's baby drop-off service; perhaps starting the scene where he's already with Beru and handing off Luke would make more sense (we could then assume that they'd already been talking for some time). Palpatine, Vader, and Tarkin with Death Star under construction: Completely unnecessary and (very) silly... Disappointing that this wasn't removed, but I don't fault L8wrtr for the scene's existence.
Ultimately, L8wrtr's version of any particular scene could be considered superior. The point is that the totality of L8wrtr's edits make for an experience which, despite welcome improvements in particular sequences, is simply not *quite* as logical in narrative progression and ultimately not quite as good as the original overall.
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
No
Format Watched?
Blu-Ray
T
Overall rating
9.2
Audio/Video Quality
10.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
8.0
Enjoyment
8.0
L8's ROTS edit is the go-to version of this movie, it addresses every problem fans had walking out of the theatre in 2005. Everything is very well done in this edit, and the fan-editor's commentary is definitely worth checking out. Although I still didn't find myself enjoying the movie very much, this is just my biased mindset. One thing that still bothered me though is that Padme still died at the end (not from a broken heart thank god) and this leaves a continuity error but still, well done!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
AVCHD
S
(Updated: June 15, 2015)
Overall rating
8.8
Audio/Video Quality
9.0
Audio Editing
10.0
Visual Editing
10.0
Narrative
7.0
Enjoyment
8.0
I always hated the original Episodes I and II, but Episode III is different for me. I didn't like it but neither did I hate it. It was bad, but not terrible.
Thankfully just like in Episode II, L8wrtr has successfully nailed it in Star Wars editing.
The video/audio quality was great. There is one part that looked a little pixely, it's before the Anakin/Obi-Wan fight. Obi-Wan says "I will do what I must" and there, the screen looked pixely. That's a very minor flaw though, other than that, it looked great.
The video/audio editing was perfect, it felt like it was never actually edited.
The narrative was much better than the theatrical cut. I have some problems that prevents this from being my favorite though. Chewbacca is still there (universe shrinking) and Padme dies unlike her daughter's memories, C-3PO's memory isn't wiped, the reason how Obi-Wan and Yoda can use the force ghost technique is no longer here (continuity errors). Because of that, HAL9000's edit is my favorite. However if you prefer Chewbacca and continuity errors over "NOOOO" and no Yoda vs Sidious fight, then this is a better edit for you. Kinda depends on minor opinions, as both fanedits are almost perfect.
I really enjoyed this fanedit and I definitely recommend it!
Thankfully just like in Episode II, L8wrtr has successfully nailed it in Star Wars editing.
The video/audio quality was great. There is one part that looked a little pixely, it's before the Anakin/Obi-Wan fight. Obi-Wan says "I will do what I must" and there, the screen looked pixely. That's a very minor flaw though, other than that, it looked great.
The video/audio editing was perfect, it felt like it was never actually edited.
The narrative was much better than the theatrical cut. I have some problems that prevents this from being my favorite though. Chewbacca is still there (universe shrinking) and Padme dies unlike her daughter's memories, C-3PO's memory isn't wiped, the reason how Obi-Wan and Yoda can use the force ghost technique is no longer here (continuity errors). Because of that, HAL9000's edit is my favorite. However if you prefer Chewbacca and continuity errors over "NOOOO" and no Yoda vs Sidious fight, then this is a better edit for you. Kinda depends on minor opinions, as both fanedits are almost perfect.
I really enjoyed this fanedit and I definitely recommend it!
User Review
Do you recommend this edit?
Yes
Format Watched?
AVCHD
M
Overall rating
7.6
Audio/Video Quality
8.0
Audio Editing
8.0
Visual Editing
8.0
Narrative
7.0
Enjoyment
7.0
the start of the edit is extremely well done, our heroes complete their mission without the unnecessary distractions that got in their way. however after this the edit becomes a little to quick in it's pacing for my liking without any real follow between scenes. the inclusion of the deleted scenes are welcome edition and the edit settles within the second half. the ending is well done and address's what many consider the worst moment in the star wars prequels rather well (NOOOOO!!!!!!)
Palpatines sudden change in appearance into the empire is rather baffling. i don't believe any viewer should have to listen to a commentary track in order to understand what just happened. this also isn't consistent to the previous film and raises more questions than it should. can he return to his normal self? why didn't he take on this disguise in the first film?
is the way in which he transforms into the empire in Episode III so bad that this needed to be addressed. overall George Lucas decisions weren't fantastic but addressing such issues causes for me more problems than there worth. the problem that i have is that it almost become a Redletter Media tick list to how to improve the films.
there are some brilliant moments within this edit but overall i feel that too much has been removed.
my original Episode III score 7/10
my fanedit Episode III score 7/10
Palpatines sudden change in appearance into the empire is rather baffling. i don't believe any viewer should have to listen to a commentary track in order to understand what just happened. this also isn't consistent to the previous film and raises more questions than it should. can he return to his normal self? why didn't he take on this disguise in the first film?
is the way in which he transforms into the empire in Episode III so bad that this needed to be addressed. overall George Lucas decisions weren't fantastic but addressing such issues causes for me more problems than there worth. the problem that i have is that it almost become a Redletter Media tick list to how to improve the films.
there are some brilliant moments within this edit but overall i feel that too much has been removed.
my original Episode III score 7/10
my fanedit Episode III score 7/10
L